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lee classic turret press, as a single stage

right now i live in an apt, i do my handloading at my parents house less than an hour away. I'm shooting more and so is my father. I'm thinking of getting a lee clasic turret press and running a universal decaper . I can have some work outta the way when i get to my parents. How well does the lee classic work in single stage configuration?

It works just fine, that's the only way I run mine. I also have two of the older 3 hole turret presses with over a dozen different die sets already set up, so I swapped out the head on the classic turret to accept the three hole turrets. My RCBS Rockchuker is seldom used anymore.

You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

Good evening,
I have been using the Lee turret presses from the 3 hole days. When new reloaders ask what press they should start with I almost always recommend the Lee Classic Cast. It works with pistol and rifle. Using it as a single press is super easy, just remove the centre rod and away you go. I load most of my practice "plate clanggers" for .308, 30-06 and .303 British on the Lee CC. My guess is, like most of the new reloaders I have coached, once you get the hang of using a turret press. You won't want anything after, but a progressive!
Make sure you get a Lee Auto drum powder measure and the risers to use it with the turrets.
Enjoy the reloading journey

The PROCESS

Originally Posted by zymguy

right now i live in an apt, i do my handloading at my parents house less than an hour away. I'm shooting more and so is my father. I'm thinking of getting a lee clasic turret press and running a universal decaper . I can have some work outta the way when i get to my parents. How well does the lee classic work in single stage configuration?

I use a Redding turret press. I wash and polish my brass, lightly lube it and full length resize and decap my pistol brass, I move it to the next station where I expand the case mouth to accept a cast bullet without shaving when I am ready to load. I then put the cases prepared as described above in a sealed container. When the spirit moves me I hand prime with my old Lee tool while watching TV and keeping the wife happy with my presence. When I need some load ammo I place 50 primed cases in my reloading block....... Then I look into each of the cases with a small flashlight to make sure there is no obstructions in the case and see if primers are not upside down (you will see shiny silver if one is upside down). Then I charge with powder while holding powder measure in my hand (takes alittle over a min.to charge 50 cases). With flashlight I check each case to see if charged and any visible short of double charges..... Then ready to seat bullet in press. I don't crimp lead bullet loads ......Sounds wordy and slow but it is quite fast. Hope this helps you. We used to call this batch reloading. afish4570

Last edited by afish4570; 08-07-2017 at 10:38 PM.
Reason: mispelled a d left word out

right now i live in an apt, i do my handloading at my parents house less than an hour away. I'm shooting more and so is my father. I'm thinking of getting a lee clasic turret press and running a universal decaper . I can have some work outta the way when i get to my parents. How well does the lee classic work in single stage configuration?

That is how I have always run mine

"Had his shooting been as good as his running, he might have given a better account of himself."
James. C. Henderson

Just pull the center rod out and it's a manual turn for each operation. I use mine in single stage now and primarily resize cast bullets. Nice to leave all the sizing dies in a single turret and just spin to the one i need.

Works well as a single stage. Takes seconds to turn it to auto indexing and back.

This is the confirmation I hoped for. I'm a competent hand loader, been at it a long while. I've always reloaded with my dad , the reasons for that have changed but its always been something we enjoyed doing together. I intend to keep reloading with him untill one of us cant. He is adamant that he is a hand loader not a reloader as such happy with is old trusty green press. I still have that pesky work thing to contend with and can see the advantage of occasionally cranking out a couple hundred proven 38 specials and not making a day of it. but for now itll just decap before i tumble , when ive a bunch ill go sit in the basement with dad as we have for a couple decades

De-priming is grunt work that is easily done while watching TV. Cleaning is also not a joint venture. Those can easily be done half an hour at a time before making the trip to Dads for serious loading, and will greatly speed that activity up, making for more enjoyment. The LEE press you discuss is great and can be used most any way you wish.

I don't use mine as a single stage as I have an older RCBS Jr3 single stage that I use for de-priming (using a Lee universal depriving tool) and for batch loading. But, there's no reason why you can't use the Lee Classic Turret as a single stage - easy to switch back and forth from indexing to non indexing. I have found it to e a great press and I'd be lost without it!

I have the Lee classic 4 hole
I got recently within the last two years
all I can say is I don't know why I waited so long to get one
it will keep you shooting just be sure to stock up on components
its a great product

I got my Lee turret mebbe 15-16 years ago and when first setting it up, it indexed when I was adjusting the dies so I removed the auto-index parst and hand indexed. I have never replaced the parts and have reloaded tens of thousands of rounds hand indexing. I feel more in "control" hand indexing and have no need for a "semi-progressive" press. It works quite well when batch loading. I also have a couple ram prime units on a couple turrets and priming with my turret is quick and easy...